In 2016 the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a global programme to fight against child marriage in 12 of the most prevalent countries. These include; Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. The East and Southern Africa regions are among the highest areas within the continent with the prevalence of child marriage in the world. Currently, nearly one third (31 per cent) of the region’s young women were married below the age of 18.
2021 marks the 5th anniversary of the UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage (GPECM). It protects and promotes the rights of adolescent girls to prevent marriage and pregnancy and encourages them to fulfil their needs, educational goals, pursuits and alternative opportunities. The GPECM also addresses the underlying conditions that sustain child marriage, advocating for laws and policies that protect girls’ rights while highlighting the importance of using robust data to inform such policies.
To celebrate this occasion, Mrs Graça Machel joined the UNFPA, UNICEF, partners from Government, regional bodies, civil society, traditional and community leaders, and youth networks to reflect on progress made on issues to move the GPECM forward in the region in bolder and better ways. This event took place during the International Day of the Girl commemoration on 11th October.
Mrs Graça Machel spoke during a high-level plenary session in her capacity as an SDG Advocate, UN Independent Expert and Founder of the Graça Machel Trust. She emphasized the need to work with men and boys to address toxic masculinities that contribute to the high rates of child marriage. She also called for stronger community-based interventions to end this practice. “Together, we can create a world where girls can aspire to a bright future – a future where they are leaders who can challenge social norms & lead the change for a more gender-equal world”, she added.
Placing the girl child prominently at the centre of our minds and hearts
Graca Machel Trust Archive Picture
Mrs Machel also reminded the staff of the Graça Machel Trust about the importance of the International Day of the Girl commemoration. She said the girl child needs to be placed prominently at the centre of our minds and hearts.
“As I reflect on the many progressive policies and initiatives to provide her with the best opportunities to realize her full potential, we have to face the harsh truth that in too many societies, the girl child is not cherished and nurtured as she should be. “- Graça Machel.
She reminded us that it is time to redouble our efforts to ensure that the girl child can exercise full agency over her life and have her dignity and voice respected and valued in every corner of the globe. “As the world dedicates a day to commemorate the girl child, she is placed prominently at the centre of our minds and hearts.
It is time to redouble our efforts to ensure that the girl child can exercise full agency over her life and have her dignity and voice respected and valued in every corner of the globe. This International Day of the Girl Child is a moment of reckoning for us to prioritize her rights. We must be boldly ambitious in our investments today in the girl child, so we sow the seeds for a new generation of unconstrained women to thrive.” – Graça Machel
“This International Day of the Girl Child is a moment of reckoning for us to prioritize her rights. We must be boldly ambitious in our investments today in the girl child, so we sow the seeds for a new generation of unconstrained women to thrive.” – Graça Machel.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.